Scottish Holly Blue

[IAC]

It's still hard to say what the general habits are of Holly Blue up here in Scotland or indeed just how long they have been establishing a network of distribution. It's clear from this year that they have been running right through the country for as long as two decades pretty much under the radar with only a few sites, most notably along the East Lothian coast, holding on to persistent colonies. Plenty to learn going forward anyway. I managed to raise a single egg during this glut year from late August collected from Ivy in Eyemouth out on the south east Berwickshire coast where the Holly Blue this year were rampant. Here are a few images of the latter stages of development. I was surprised by the colouration of the larva and the pupa. A bit more special than I had hoped for. Egg was collected on the 29th August. The Butterfly emerged on the 21st October.

[David M]

Beautiful sequence, Iain. This is a gorgeous insect in all its forms.

Thanks for sharing.

[Benjamin]

Yep - stunning creature beautifully captured - lovely stuff.